2000 Infiniti I30 from North America - Comments

I own a 1998 Infiniti; very smooth riding vehicle. I have 165,000 miles. I change the oil regularly and just recently had the radiator flushed and a fuel injection cleaning. Don't think I even needed to do that; the car never runs hot, it doesn't leak oil or transmission fluid. Oh, by the way did I mentioned I haven't change the trans fluid yet, so far no problems with the trans. Now, with all that said, the check engine light now comes on and I have a blinking air bag light. I haven't diagnosed the problem yet, and the vehicle seems to run a little sluggish but OK. I'll be replacing the plugs for the first time, hopefully that will resolve the sluggish problem and the check engine light issue. Does anyone know what the blinking air bag light indicates?

I just bought a 2000 Infiniti I30. It has 117,000 miles now, Had 104,000 when I bought it 6 months ago. The fuel pump went out last week, replaced no problem. But the SES light will not stay off even after replacing the air sensors marked by the codes. The car runs but I hear a hum in the engine compartment area that sounds like the car seems to be trying to over-rev. Or that the cooling fan is running wide open. NOT sure. My mechanic says the codes should be clear as we have replaced the sensors. But we are still getting air sensor bad codes. At this point I'm thinking of selling this car. Just wondering if others are having this problem and if recalls were done for this problem. Does Infiniti support their products?

I have a 2000 Infiniti I30t. My service engine light went on and off a few times and took it to get it checked. The problem was the coils that sparked the engine to start. There are 6 of them which I saw someone else say. I've replaced one and it solved the problem. I was told they will all malfunction because between 2000 and 01 the coils from a certain manufacturer were all malfunctioning because of how they were made. My service engine light came on again but went away on its own and its been a few months since that and hasn't come on again. The car runs great and if the light comes on again it will probably just be the coil issue.

I have been driving my 2000 I30 since I bought it new in April 2000.

The SES light has been coming on and off intermittently for the past 4 or 5 years. First in 2004 it was off when I got smog checked, so it passed, then it came back on.

I had my local mechanic who has done only oil changes check the codes, and was told the ignition coils and catalytic converter codes P131 and P420 would need attention from the dealer.

The dealer replaced first 2 coils, then an additional 4 coils at $1200+ expense.

SES light kept coming back on.

Finally, the dealer agreed in April 2008 to replace the Bank 2 converter and reset the codes in time for current year smog check to pass. Then the SES light came back on and the 02 sensors needed to be replaced.

Fortunately, all of this was covered under the emissions 80,000/8 year warranty (just in time, car has only 40,000 miles).

Now in October '08, the SES light is back on and the code P420 indicates Bank 2 needs to be replaced again! Dealer checked and now claims that the Bank 1 converter and O2 sensors were replaced by mistake last April, so has replaced Bank 2. Will wait to see what happens next, but this definitely seems to be something that, given the multitude of similar instances among so many owners of 2000 I30, should be considered for recall. What will it take for Infiniti realize it is losing future customers over this? I was considering the M45 as my next car, but am extremely reluctant at this point.

I purchased a used 2000 Infiniti I30 in 2002. It currently has 120,000+ miles. For 2 years, I have been dealing with issues with the Catalytic converter.

In August 2007, I had the converter replaced at a Dealership. In May 2008, the Service Engine light came on, and out of sheer convenience, I took it to a local mechanic who replaced the Catalytic converter again. Three days later, the light came back on and I took it back to the local guy who told me the O2 sensor went, probably because he put the old part back on a new converter (he "worked with me" on the cost of that repair). In December 2008, the light reappeared and once again it was the converter. I took it back to the local guy who made me pay another $200 so he could drill out 1 of the 5 attachment bolts he broke the last time he repaired the converter while he replaced the converter a third time (under warranty) and told me the computer in my car needed to be "re-flashed" or the light would come back on. I declined the “flashing”.

It's now May 2009 and the light is back on. My reputable mechanic wants me to fight with the local guy because the converter should still be under his parts warranty.

I am starting to feel like I'm being taken advantage of by the local guy. I've had other problems with the local guy, such as bringing the car for an oil change and being told the thermostat had to be replaced, once he replaced the spark plugs when I brought the car in for something else, and once when I brought the car in for a noise on the front left, he changed the right rotor (and put the old brakes back on) and the noise never went away.

How do I know if this local guy is nickel & dim-ing me or if he is just as clueless about cars as I am? Is there a way I can get help fighting with this local guy to get my car fixed properly??

Is this a common problem with I30s? How do you think I should proceed? Should I take the car to the local guy and have him fix it a 3rd time or should I take it to the dealership and incur the costs of replacing the converter a fourth time just to get this problem out of the way??

I'm currently driving an Infiniti I30 2000. I've had this car since about February 2007. It was purchased, pre-owned. I was very pleased with this car in the condition it was in.

Over the years of owning this car, I've ran into a lot of problems - most of which has already been discussed here. I've been having electrical problems - had the alternator replaced twice, two new batteries... The "check engine" light won't go off. I've had it checked numerously. Had to replace the radiator, both axles, and the power steering hose... Took it to a Nissan dealership for super expensive repairs, air flow had to be replaced.

I recently took the car down to get it checked, and the code given was for the catalytic converter. Whether it's the sensors or it is seriously restricting the exhaust. It's strange how so many other people have ran into the exact, or even similar, problems with the Infiniti I30.

Is the car worth maintaining further, or is it time to look for a new car?

I own a 2000 I30t and love it. I've got 120k miles on it now and bought it when it was 2 years old. The only thing I had to do under warranty is changing of the coils. Since that time I had to replace the mass air sensor which I thought was very expensive for what it is. Also changed the power seat motor. Other than oil changes and brakes and a battery, I have done nothing to the car. It drives great and has lots of power. I am going to change my spark plugs soon but that's about it.

I have a 2001 Infiniti I30. I bought it 5 months back. I've driven over 2k miles and I've already visited the dealer 3 times; every time I see a new problem. Now the service engine soon light came back, I hate myself for being the owner of an Infiniti. I advise all of you to take any other car, not an Infiniti.

I have a 2000 Infiniti I30. This car gave me nothing but trouble: Radiator leaks, air conditioner pipe leaks, and now struggling with the Service Engine Soon light (SES). The dealer said to fix the SES, I have to replace 6 coils, 4 O2 sensors and the catalytic converter and wanted over 2500 dollars for the repair.

Recently I replaced my second car and one manufacturer I avoided looking at was Nissan.

I had a 2001 Infiniti I30 for 5 years, it was bought pre-owned.

Service Engine light went on and off for one month already, until my mechanic buddy told me to check with dealer, since his OBD won't read the code out of it any more. It was showing P0420 code for the first time, which is the catalytic converter. Today I get the dealer to check it, it was the catalytic converter again and confirmed. In the report it says bank 1 catalytic converter needs to be replaced. This will cost more $1000+, I decide to have it replaced by a 3rd party one, which is about $300 or less, instead of dealer's "Gold-coated" one.

Then I check the Internet, there actually has 3 unit for converter: front, center, rear. Luckily I found a maintenance book in PDF for my car. And it looks to me, it is the center unit needs to be replaced, I will have my buddy check it again tomorrow, before I place an order online. Has anybody here had the same experience? Any comments on which part I should buy will be appreciated.

We all seen to have the same problems with this overweight gas guzzler.

First off, change the old exhaust to a straight thru pipe. Bang the air filter on the driveway to get rid of the dust. (do this often, K&N filters are better).

Axles are terribly bad on this model of car. Buy a 'slip boot' instead because the original replacement will just break again.

In terms of any electrical motors, get to it, have a buddy hold its power button and, hit the MOTOR with a hammer/wrench. While he holds its command switch, Old motors have hot spots that expand, it's a fact.

Bad points about this car (65,000 miles) is design flaws with re invented components. Good parts? Performance, and comfort, great stereo., after all we have to live a little right?

Too expensive to maintain, my next is a good ole Lexus/Toyota. They never give grief. toenailzz@hotmail.com

I own a 2000 I30, which I bought new. The car has only 60,000 miles on the clock. Recently many things started going wrong. For example: the service engine light kept coming on, coolant began leaking, starter motor had to be replaced and the O2 sensor had to be replaced. I like the car, but I'm disappointed that that so many mechanical items showed up on such a low mileage car.